Gatornationals: Butner looks to race through strong Pro Stock field

Monday

Bo Butner is off to a strong start in his quest to defend the world championship he captured in this class in 2017.

A look at this weekend's NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.

WHAT’S HAPPENED IN 2018: Bo Butner is off to a strong start in his quest to defend the world championship he captured in this class in 2017.

In the opening event of the season, Butner blew past teammate Jason Line to win the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif.

In the final, Butner got down the track in 6.549 seconds with a top speed of 209.62 miles per hour. It was his sixth career victory. His previous five came during his championship run last season.

“Both my crew and my car have been running smooth recently, and we are just trying to keep riding that wave,” Butner said. “I feel great in this car and I have all the confidence in the world in my crew.”

Two weeks later, Butner’s attempt to win back-to-back events to open the season came to an abrupt end when he was eliminated in the first round by Jeg Coughlin Jr. in in Phoenix.

Line made it to his second consecutive final of the year, but was edged out by Chis McGaha with an ET of 6.529 to Line’s 6.538. It was McGaha’s sixth career victory.

“We picked up some power this offseason that we’ve been looking for but when we went No. 1 in the first round of qualifying we knew we had something that could compete,” McGaha said. “It’s really satisfying to do this as a one car team, and it’s really special to get our first win of the year.”

PREVIEWING THE GATOR: Butner, the defending world champion and already a winner this season, certainly is one of the favorites heading into the weekend. But he’s going to have to contend with two of the top drivers in the class who have great success in Gainesville — Line and Greg Anderson.

Line and Anderson have each won Gatornationals four times. In eight of the last 13 years, it has been either Line or Anderson reaching Victory Lane.

Anderson and Line finished second and third, respectively, behind Butner is last year’s final points standings. Anderson, who won four times in 2017, was the runner-up in Gainesville a year ago. His last Gatornationals win came in 2016.

Line, who won twice last year, last won Gatornationals in 2011.

Two other past Gator winners also are in the field — Coughlin and Kenny Delco.

This is a competitive class that also includes Erica Enders, who has 22 career wins, Drew Skillman and Vincent Nobile.

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